During his solo performance at Boston Calling Music Festival on Sunday (May 25th), Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello used his set to make a pointed statement about President Donald Trump.
For a portion of his performance, Morello played with the words “F*ck Trump” spelled out behind him, with images also labeling the President a “tyrant” and the “Hater in Chief.”
“Welcome, brothers and sisters, to the last big event before they throw us all in jail,” Morello said, addressing the crowd.
The guitarist then spoke out in support of Bruce Springsteen – who was recently criticized by Trump in a series of Truth Social posts after he called him an “unfit president” and expressed his dislike for the current administration.
“Bruce is going after Trump because Bruce, his whole life, he’s been about truth, justice, democracy, equality. And Trump is mad at him because Bruce draws a bigger audience. F*ck that guy,” Morello said before performing a cover of Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad.”
Morello is the latest musician to defend Springsteen’s comments about the President.
Recently, Neil Young shared his thoughts on the situation, writing on his website: “Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America. You worry about that instead of the dyin’ kids in Gaza. That’s your problem. I am not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us… STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made… You are forgetting your real job. You work for us.”
Eddie Vedder also came out in support of Springsteen and the freedom of speech, saying in part during Pearl Jam’s show in Pittsburgh, PA on May 18th:
“Part of free speech is open discussion. Part of democracy is healthy public discourse. The name-calling is so beneath us. Bruce has always been as pro-American with his values and liberty, and his justice has always remained intact. And I’m saying this now to be sure this freedom to speak will still exist in a year or two when we come back to this microphone.”
